Picture Book
by devianttart
Summary: Vignettes from Daniel's childhood. What is the story behind the photo that Jack found? Prequel to PHOTOGRAPH.
1. Chapter 1

_After I posted **Photograph**, I received a few requests for a sequel. Readers wanted to know what happened when Daniel was descended. I will probably get to that story at some point, but first I wanted toexplore how Daniel and Ella met. _

_Warnings: There is some pretty strong language in this story. Young Ella has a mouth on her. Also, there is sporatic violence throughout the story. And just so you know, I am not terribly familiar with the foster care system so I could be making some mistakes. If you spot them, let me know nicely, please._

_Please read and review! _

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The First Day

Fourteen year-old Daniel Jackson waited for the new foster child to arrive. Mrs. Greerson had been called away at the last minute to the hospital she volunteered at. Her husband was at work. When the call came from the hospital, she had looked at Daniel and her son, Brian, pleadingly and asked, "Would you boys mind meeting the new girl? I spoke with her caseworker and she should be here around four. I promise to be home by five." Both boys agreed readily, but of course, as soon as Mrs. Greerson left Brian punched Daniel in the arm and said, "See ya' later Sponge." Then the sixteen year old left. Daniel didn't mind. He knew how overwhelming it could be for a foster child to be greeted by an entire family. And he suspected that the longer he could keep the new arrival away from Brian, the easier everyone's lives would go.

As soon as the house emptied, Daniel felt himself relax. It was rare that he had any time to himself and he treasured it. He walked upstairs to check out the spare bedroom. The upstairs rooms were decorated in a style Daniel had come to think of as "Early American Foster Care." They both had neat and tidy twin beds, covered with older but clean sheets and comforters. There was a small collection of battered toys and children's books. The items in Daniel's room skewed slightly more male while the other room skewed slightly female. Each room firmly resisted the imprint of any real personality. Daniel felt they looked like something out of a children's mental ward. There was a small bathroom that opened into both bedrooms and the hallway. Until today, Daniel had had the whole bathroom to himself, a rare treat in his life. He cleaned and straightened in the spare room and bathroom, trying to make them as warm and welcoming as possible. When he heard a car turn into the driveway, he ran down to greet them.

As soon as he spied the young girl in the backseat of the station wagon, he knew. Foster children seemed to all fall into one of three categories. Category One was when something bad had happened to the children's parents, like Daniel himself. Category One kids tended to have somebody, somewhere that they always dreamed would come and claim them. Category Two was when bad things had happened to the kids. These children veered from being very angry and defensive to very needy and oddly affectionate. Category Three kids were the ones where bad things had happened to both the parents and the kids. There was a desolation – a devastation – that was scary to see in these children. The little red head that was curled around her duffle bag looked as if she fell firmly into Category Three. And she did not look happy to be coming to this house.

The caseworker stepped out of her car. "You must be Daniel," she said, holding out her hand.

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel replied. Adults always liked Daniel because he was so polite. "The perfect foster child," his own caseworker had once called him, not considering how painful that comment might be for an orphan. Daniel was smart, polite and well behaved. And he never complained no matter where they placed him, or how often they moved him.

"This is Ella McPherson," the social worker reached to open up the back door of the car. Ella climbed out slowly as if she didn't trust the ground to be there for her when she needed it. "Ella, this is going to be your new home." She was using the overly sweet "voice of concern" that Daniel hated. Judging from Ella's head down sulk, she didn't appreciate the tone either. "Daniel," the voice turned to him, "Mrs. Greerson called me today and told me that you would show Ella around and make her feel at home. Now, normally, I have tosee the parents when there is a new placement, but the Greerson's have a long history and this is an emergency so I will make an exception. I'm sure that you will do everything that you can to make Ella feel right at home."

"Yes, ma'am." By now Daniel was desperate for this woman to leave. But manners won out, "Would you like some coffee or anything before you go?" _Please say no, please say no,_ he thought to himself.

"Oh, no, you are so sweet for offering, but I'll just leave you children to get to know one another." She turned her full condescension towards Ella, "Goodbye Ella. I'll check in on your next week." Ella made a noise that fell somewhere between a grunt and a sigh. The social worker handed her business card to Daniel, "And here you are. Tell your foster mom she can call me if she has any questions." With that she climbed into her car and drove away.

Relived, Daniel turned to Ella, "Okay…well…Come on it. Would you like me to help you with your bag?" She only clutched it closer to her chest. He led her inside. "All right, this is the first floor, living room, Mr. and Mrs. Greerson's bedroom. The Greerson's are the adults here. They're okay. This here is the kitchen, Brian's bedroom is off to the side here. Brian is 16 and the Greerson's son." Daniel paused, wondering what else he should say about Brian. "Just try to stay out of his way. Anyway… these stairs take you upstairs to our rooms." He showed her to her room. "This one is yours."

Through the whole tour, Ella had plodded behind him, eyes down, clinging to her duffel bag. "This is your closet, your dresser. I can help you unpack, if you'd like." She shook her head. Her continuing silence was beginning to unnerve him. "Umm…this door leads to the bathroom. It opens to your room, the hallway and my room." **That **got a reaction. Her eyes flicked up to Daniel. He thought he saw fear. "So, be sure to lock the door when you are in there and I promise to always knock, okay?" She remained silent, but nodded her head slightly. "Ok…well…ummm, I am going to go downstairs and make dinner. If you need anything, you can find me in the kitchen, okay?" When Daniel left, Ella was still standing in the middle of her room, holding her bag.

Daniel went to the kitchen. A previous foster family had taught him how to cook and he thought it would be nice to make something good for Ella's first day. The Greerson's house was always well stocked. He found everything for spaghetti, turned the radio on and got to work.

By six o'clock, the house was filled with the smells of meat, tomatoes, and spices. Mrs. Greerson came home late and was thrilled, "Thanks for making that, Daniel. It smells lovely." She put her purse down and looked in her son's room. "Is Brian home?"

"No, he went out," Daniel answered.

"Well, he stayed long enough to help you with the new girl, right?"

Daniel knew better than to rat out Brian. He made an "umhmmm" type noise and changed the subject. "Ella is upstairs unpacking right now."

"Thanks again, Daniel. You just take care of things so well. It's as though you don't need us adults at all." She laughed and ruffled Daniel's hair, breezing out of the kitchen.

Alone again, Daniel put water on to boil for the pasta. Every time he was alone with Mrs. Greerson, his chest tightened with all of the things he wanted to say. _I don't like being here, _he thought. He had been with the Greerson's for two months. He still missed the last family he had stayed with. Unfortunately the Parson's had been a military family and Mr. Parson's orders had been changed. They were moving overseas. So here Daniel was. Every family was an adjustment and Daniel was very good about blending into new surroundings. But living with the Greerson's was a challenge. Mr. Greerson worked a lot and was rarely seen at home before 7 or 8. A self-made success, Mr. Greerson had high expectations of his son. When report cards had come home a few weeks ago, he had screamed at Brian about a "B" that should have been an "A." He held up Daniel's grades for comparison. "Look at Daniel here. He comes from nothing, he's two years younger than you, and he's already in your grade! Hell, he's got better marks than you. And they've got him in some advanced classes. Why can't you be smart like him, Brian?" Later, the older boy had retaliated by coming into Daniel's room, shoving him into the wall, threatening him with all sorts of bodily harm, and then sinking his fist deep into Daniel's stomach. Daniel vowed to never bring home another report card again.

Mrs. Greerson was nicer and far more present in the house. But she had a blind spot when it came to children. She was oblivious to her son's bullying ways. And some of the things she said would leave Daniel speechless from her unthinking cruelty. On Daniel's first night there, she gave him a long speech in front of the family about how she took in foster children because she felt that she was so blessed with a wonderful family. She wanted to share her blessings with children who were not so fortunate. _I had a good family,_ Daniel had wanted to yell. _I had the **best** family._ But at least Mrs. Greerson tried.

The pasta was done so Daniel set it to drain, sprinkling oil on the top. Looking at the clock, he realized that it had been two hours and he had heard nothing from Ella. Concerned, he decided to go check on her. He went upstairs and found Ella sitting on her bed, still holding her bag. Nothing in the room had been touched.

"Ella, are you okay?"

She turned and looked at him. For just a moment, Daniel saw the fear and desolation that made her look even younger than she was. It was immediately masked by defensiveness. "I'm fine," she replied. It was the first thing she had said since getting out of the car.

"Good." At least now he knew she wasn't mute. "It's dinner time so why don't you wash up and help me set the table. You can leave your bag in the closet, if you'd like."

Shooting him a very suspicious glance, Ella carried her bag to her closet. Then she went into the bathroom, where Daniel heard all of the doors being locked. When she came back out, her hands and face were washed and her hair was brushed. Daniel smiled at her effort. "Let's go set up."

He led her to the kitchen and showed her where the dishes were kept. By now, the whole family was home. Slowly, everyone trailed into the kitchen and claimed their usual spots around the table.

"You must be Ella," Mrs. Greerson came into the room and pulled the girl into an engulfing hug. Ella looked too surprised to resist. Mrs. Greerson held Ella at arms length. "Well, aren't you a picture. Look at all of that red hair. So curly and thick. Hmm…we should get you a good cut. Lord knows Daniel could use one to." Stung, Ella pulled away to finish setting the table.

Everyone took his or her seat, Daniel indicating that Ella could sit next to him. After the food was passed and everyone was eating, Mrs. Greerson introduced Ella to her family. "Gentlemen, this is Ella. She will be living with us now. Ella how long have you been a foster child?"

Ella's response was barely audible, "Three years."

Brian snorted, "Just what we need. Another sponge in this house." He glared at Daniel across the table.

"Brian, be nice," Mrs. Greerson admonished. "Ella, your caseworker told me that your mother died, right? That her boyfriend murdered her?"

Daniel froze. He couldn't believe it. He could not believe that she would be so casual about Ella's tragedy. She had been the same way when Daniel moved in, but at least Daniel's mother had not been murdered. Ella looked mortified.

"Susan, why would…" Even Mr. Greerson was surprised by his wife's callousness.

"What?" Mrs. Greerson asked. "I'm sorry sweetie. Does it upset you to talk about your mom? It's good to remember those we loved who have left us. It's just so tragic when these kinds of things happen. But you know, that's why Mr. Greerson and myself became foster parents. We wanted to share our blessings and our love with children who were not as lucky as our Brian here."

Sitting next to her, Daniel could feel Ella's anger and upset radiating off of her in waves. He wished he could say something but his mind had blanked in shared embarrassment. Everyone went back to his or her food.

"This spaghetti is pretty good," Mr. Greerson remarked.

"Thank you, sir," Daniel responded.

"So Ella," Brian spoke up, "how'd that guy kill your mom? What he use? Knife? Gun? Did you see it happen?"

"Screw you, asshole!" Ella finally snapped. Silence fell across the kitchen.

"Ella!" Mrs. Greerson looked aghast. "I can only imagine how things were in your family, but in this house, children do not swear. Kitchen duty is yours tonight." She turned to her son. "As you were so rude to our new family member, Brian, you will help her clean up the kitchen. It is not nice to pick on others and I count on you to set an example in this house."

"But I'm going over to Marc's house tonight," he protested.

"You can go after you help with the dishes," Mrs. Greerson was adamant. "Your father and I are going out tonight and I expect this house to be spotless by the time we get back home. Is that understood?" Both children mumbled their assent.

Daniel's stomach dropped when he saw the look that Brian was giving Ella. He was pretty sure that the fact that Ella was four years younger and a girl would not save her from the pain Brian's look was promising. Daniel had no intention of leaving those two alone tonight. He started to clear the table.

"No, Daniel," Mrs. Greerson started. "You've worked hard enough today. You don't need to clean as well."

"But, I don't mind – "

"Daniel, please," she interrupted. "I've had enough of children arguing tonight. I don't need you doing it as well. Now, please, just go up to your room and we will all leave these two to get started."

Left with no option, Daniel went to his room. He paced across the floor until he heard the adults leave. Then he ran back to the kitchen in time to see Brian knock Ella into the wall. Brian raised his arm to hit the girl again.

"Leave her alone!" Daniel grabbed Brian's arm and pulled him back. Brian shook off the younger boy and then punched him in the stomach. Daniel hit the floor and tried not to throw up.

"Listen you little bitch," Brian whipped around and pointed his finger at Ella, who was crying. "Don't ever try that shit again. This is my house, **not yours**. And don't you ever forget it. And you," he turned to Daniel who cringed instinctively. Brian laughed, "You're pathetic. I'm outta' here." Damage done, Brian grabbed his coat and strolled out the back door.

Slowly, Daniel got to his feet. Ella was trying to hide her face as she continued to cry. Daniel reached for her shoulder, "Ella - "

"Leave me the fuck alone!" Ella smacked Daniel's hand away and ran out of the kitchen. He heard her bedroom door slam. Still in pain, Daniel sank into a kitchen chair. It looked like he was on kitchen duty tonight.

After awhile, Daniel washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Once he was finished, he went upstairs to try and talk with Ella. He knocked on her door.

"Ella, it's Daniel. Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I know today has been…well…dreadful…but you can trust me. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He listened for a response, but heard nothing. "Okay, I'm going to my room. The kitchen's clean so don't worry about that. If you need anything, just knock. Okay? Goodnight," Daniel went to his room. He never heard a sound from Ella that night.

When Daniel woke the next morning, there was a sign taped to the bathroom mirror. It read:

"Daniel –

Thanks for diner. The spagete was good. Thanks for cleaning the kichen. Im sorry I used the 'F-word' on you. I didnt mean it.

Ella"

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TBC 


	2. Chapter 2

_A quick note on the title: it seems that there is already a StargateFic in progress called "Snapshots." Janissima very nicely wrote me and asked if I would be willing to change mine. I agreed because her story was posted first. I think "Picture Book" will work very well for this, as books will play a big part in Ella's growth._

_Thanks to LadyTwist and EternalStargazer for your reviews. Dessert Blossom-By-The-Sea, I love your screen name. Thanks for the great review comment. This is a slow and meandering story. I know where it is going, but it is hard for me to get there. And it feels weird not to have guns or aliens or explosions. I worry that people are a little put off by the child abuse aspects, but they are crucial to the story. However, this chapter is much lighter. And I get to use one of my all-time favorite books. Please read and review.

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Previously:

When Daniel woke the next morning, there was a sign taped to the bathroom mirror. It read:

"Daniel –

Thanks for diner. The spagete was good. Thanks for cleaning the kichen. Im sorry I used the 'F-word' on you. I didnt mean it.

Ella"

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The Library

And that was how Daniel grew a new shadow. A short, slightly chubby new shadow that was mostly quiet but in times of stress would spit out some of the most appalling curses Daniel had ever heard. For the next few weeks, wherever Daniel went, Ella was sure to follow. She would not come too close, but preferred to hover in the vicinity. If he were in his room, she would be in hers. If he went downstairs, Ella would soon wander down as well. She was also learning how to survive in the house. After her first disastrous day, Mrs. Greerson made an extra effort with Ella. All of the house rules were carefully explained. Every child had chores, both daily and weekly. Weekly chores included kitchen duty and other house cleaning tasks. Even Brian had to do chores. Daily tasks were the ones that Ella had the most trouble with. They included keeping her room clean and doing her homework. Making her bed elicited a blistering stream of curse words from Ella. Smothering his laughter, Daniel finally came in and showed her how to make the severe military-approved "hospital corners" the Parson's had taught him. Her homework was another matter.

Daniel never got the impression that Ella was lacking in intelligence. But for the past several years her schooling had been inconsistent. Her new school placed her in a special program to give her a chance to catch up with the rest of her class. Unfortunately, this embarrassed her deeply and she refused any help with her work. While doing his own work in his room, Daniel could hear Ella swearing under her breath as she struggled through her assignments.

A few weeks after Ella's arrival, Daniel received a book box from his grandfather Nick. Nick sent these "intellectual care packages" every month or so, along with long rambling letters expounding his latest "unconventional" theories. The gem in this box was a copy of Shakespeare's _Twelfth Night_ that had been translated into ancient Greek. Whether in English or Greek, Daniel believed that Shakespeare was meant to be read out loud. Enjoying himself immensely, Daniel did not hear Ella come home until it was too late.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Ella asked from his doorway.

He was very embarrassed to be caught "performing." "Um…reading. It's a book my grandfather sent me."

"You have a grandfather? Why don't you live with him?"

Daniel was never comfortable answering questions about Nick. What could he say? _I don't live with Nick because I don't think he likes me that much. Maybe I look too much like his daughter, whom he **did** love. And anyway he is too busy chasing "Giant Aliens" to give a damn about his daughter's only child._ Out loud he only said, "It's complicated."

Ella nodded as if she understood. "So, what are you reading?"

"Do you know who Shakespeare is?" Ella shook her head. "Well, he wrote plays a long time ago. This one is called _Twelfth Night._ Somebody translated it into Greek and I'm just reading it. Out loud."

Ella puzzled that for a few moments. "You speak Greek?"

"I speak a few other languages. My parents taught me some and I just kept up the studies on my own."

"Wow...I don't think I…Daniel, do you _like_ school?"

Truthfully, most of his school either bored or scared Daniel. He was too smart for his classes and too awkward for the social aspects. He had skipped two years and was really just waiting to get to college. Most of his time at this high school was spent avoiding Brian and his gang. "Not really, I guess," he admitted with a laugh. "But I like to learn. What about you?"

" The classes are so hard Daniel! I'm such an idiot." There was no doubt in Daniel's mind that Ella wasn't just saying these things. She believed it." Everyone has always said I'm stupid."

"Just because the classes are hard, doesn't meant that you are stupid," Daniel replied. "It's hard because you're new. I can help you if you want. And once you get some friends there it will get easier."

Ella looked at the ground. "I don't think so. The kids there don't like me. They know I'm just a foster kid. They think I'm a freak."

Daniel didn't know what to say. He was the same way, but he tried not to let it bother him too much. "You know, Ella, if you're a freak for being a foster kid, so am I."

Ella thought about that for a moment. Giving him a rare smile, she went to her room.

That Saturday, Daniel stopped by Ella's room. "Hey, I'm going to the library. Would you like to come?"

She gave him a confused look, "Why?"

"To look at books, to read, to get out of the house and away from Brian." That was all it took. She jumped off her bed, grabbed her shoes and waited by the front door.

When the arrived at the library, Ella looked lost. Daniel set her at a table and went to find his books. On a whim he picked up one for Ella.

When he got back to the table, he placed it in front of her. "What's that?" Ella asked suspiciously.

"A book." When she continued to look suspicious, he teased her, "You do know what they are, right?" She raised her left eyebrow and glared so he elaborated, "It's called _The Secret Garden_. It's about an orphan named Mary Lennox. She is bratty, angry and often rude. You might like her."

Choosing not to answer, Ella pulled the book to her and started to read. Daniel settled into his research on Ancient Egyptian burial rites, and assignment from Nick. After some time, Ella looked up from her book. "Why do they keep saying things are 'queer'?" she asked.

Still focused on his own task, Daniel replied, "Queer means weird."

"No it don't. Queer means gay."

He let out an exasperated sigh and looked over at her, "In this book, queer means weird, okay?"

It was obvious she didn't believe him, but continued reading anyway. A few hours later the library was closing.

"Come on Ella, time to go home," Daniel started to pack his bag.

Surfacing from her reading, Ella's dazed look was quickly replaced by panic, "But I'm not done with this! I wanna finish this book."

"Okay, we'll check it out."

"But I don't have a card!"

"It's okay, I'll use mine." Privately, Daniel was really amused by her panic but tried not to let on. It was nice to see her interested in something other than swearing.

"Oh, thanks." Sheepishly, she pulled her stuff together and followed him through the check out process.

As they walked home, Daniel noticed Ella worrying her lower lip with her teeth. "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and looked up. "Daniel, if I can finish this book, and if I take really good care of it, can I check out another book on your card, please?"

Her voice was so anxious that again Daniel wanted to laugh. But he responded seriously and respectfully, "Sure, that'll be fine. And I grabbed you an application form. Once Mrs. Greerson signs it, you'll have your own card."

She gave him ashy, but happy, smile. "Thanks, Daniel."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

_LadyTwist - "Sweet"? What are you trying to do to me? "Sweet"? _

_Thanks for reading this, all. I am low on reviews but I am enjoying myself. So I'll keep on writing... (EternalStargater - sorry I misspelled your name the first time.)_

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Previously -

She took a deep breath and looked up. "Daniel, if I can finish this book, and if I take really good care of it, can I check out another book on your card, please?"

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The Secret Garden

A week after the library trip, Daniel was late coming home. Held up on a school project, he did not make it to the house until everyone was sitting down for dinner. Almost everyone.

"Where's Ella?" he asked.

Mrs. Greerson answered him; "Ella has decided to stay in her room right now." Her tone was so final that Daniel knew any further questions would only cause an argument. Looking around, he realized that he had missed a rough afternoon at the house. Mr. Greerson was drinking Scotch. Judging from the flush on his face, it wasn't his first. Mrs. Greerson radiated barely smothered fury. Brian had a faint red mark on his face but he was giving Daniel a very smug glare. Daniel met his look but felt his stomach drop. Something was wrong with Ella and Brian looked far too happy. The tuna casserole on Daniel's plate threatened to choke him. He wanted to get up immediately and check on his friend but he was afraid to draw any additional attention to himself or her. Once everyone finished eating, Mrs. Greerson started to clear the table. Brian disappeared into his room and Daniel escaped upstairs. He knocked lightly on Ella's door. When there was no response he opened it anyway.

"Ella?" he called out. Behind him he heard a faint clunk. Turning, he saw the closet door open and a large green eye peep out. "It's okay Ella, it's just me." She opened the door all the way and stepped out. His concern deepened when he saw tear stains on her face and realized the lower right side of her lip was swollen. "What happened?" He leaned close to inspect the damage.

When Ella was excited or upset, her words tumbled over each other. As she submitted to his inspection she spilled the story, "Brian got in trouble because a teacher called home about a report he didn't turn in. His father got angry and smacked him right in front of his mom and me. So he told his mom that he did the report but I stole it but I didn't! And I told his mom that he was a stupid ass liar but she didn't believe me and she called me a liar and said I had a dirty mouth and she sent me to my room. And then Brian came up here and smacked me for calling him a stupid ass liar _which he is_ and you weren't here and I'm not allowed dinner and I'm hungry!" Her voice cracked as she tried not to cry again.

"Oh Ella, I'm sorry. I got held up at school. Jeeze. I am so sorry." Ella wasstill glaring. "Look why don't you go wash your face? I'll wait here and when you're done I'll get you some food."

Still sniffling, Ella stomped into the bathroom. When she came back out, she was calmer. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm not mad at you. It's just Brian is such a jackass and I never touched his stupid homework!" Her arms were crossed in front of her and she looked mad enough to spit nails.

"It's all right. I believe you." Daniel knew very well that both of them were too scared of Brian to touch anything of his. "All right, I'm going to sneak down and get you some dinner. And maybe some ice for that lip."

She protested, "But I don't want you to get in trouble too."

"Don't worry, I won't. And I can't just let you starve." Daniel's years in foster care had taught him to be a champion food thief. It was a survival skill when you never knew how much or what kind of food the next family would expect you to live on. He had learned to be very quiet when creeping around a house. Mrs. Greerson was facing the television when he came down the stairs. Brian was still in his bedroom with the door closed. The casserole was in the refrigerator and was still somewhat warm. He filled a plastic dish and smoothed out the remains in the pan. It would be hard to tell that anything was missing. Carefully filling a cup with ice, Daniel grabbed a fork and headed back upstairs.

Ella was back in the closet when he returned. She opened the door and was very excited to see food. "Thank you." She grabbed the bowl and started to eat, minding her sore mouth. "It's a little cold. But it's still good," she hastened to add when Daniel released an exasperated sigh. He went into the bathroom and transferred the ice to a washcloth. After she had emptied the bowl, Ella held the ice to her face.

"So, Ella," Daniel began, "what's in the closet?"

"What do you mean?" She gave him her most innocent look.

"Both times you came out, I heard something clunk. Is there a lock on that door?"

He could see her internal debate. She liked him, but she still wasn't used to trusting anyone. After a moment, she walked over and opened the door. Sure enough, there was a bolt lock crookedly screwed onto the inside.

"How did you get that on?"

"It was there!" Ella sounded defensive. "I wouldn't know how to put it on. You know what I think? I think there used to be another girl here that was scared of Brian. I'll bet you she put it up there. And now I can hide in here and Brian can't get me."

"What about today?"

"I wasn't fast enough." For a moment the two children looked at each other without speaking and then she said, "You wanna see what I did in there?"

"Okay," Daniel got on his knees and crawled to the back of the closet. There was not a lot of room but Ella had set up a tiny little nest in the back, perfectly big enough for one twelve year old. There was a tiny nightlight, a few pillows and an old blanket. She had taped up several magazine photographs of flowers on the wall. It was her own "secret garden," Daniel realized. There was an open book on the floor that he carried out with him. "_A Little Princess_?" he asked as he showed her the book.

She looked slightly uncomfortable. "All right, don't laugh. I wanted to read more. I'm tried of being stupid. You read all the time and you are definitely not stupid. I thought…maybe…anyway, my school has a library. I told the lady there that I wanted to read a book but when she asked me what I liked to read I didn't know so she asked me what I had read before and the only other book I ever read was _The Secret Garden_. She said that the same person wrote this one and I could take it. I really like it."

The pace Ella spoke with could make Daniel dizzy sometimes. "I'm not going to laugh. And you are _not_ stupid, Ella. I think it's great you are enjoying reading. So do you like this as much as _The Secret Garden_?"

She nodded eagerly. "It's good. It's got a monkey." At that, Daniel had to laugh. At first Ella looked annoyed, but then she started to giggle too. "Well, there is. There's a monkey and an Indian Gentleman, but I don't think he's really an Indian. And Sara is an orphan. Why does this lady like to write about orphans so much?"

"I guess she thinks they're interesting. I know I think we are." He decided to move the conversation to a more immediate concern. "Ella, I don't know about that lock. What if you got stuck in there? There is no way to get you out."

"Then I won't get stuck." Ella sat back on her bed. "Daniel, please don't tell on me. I have to have a way to get away from Brian. He scares me sometimes." Gone was the angry little fighter. Again, she was just another knocked around 12-year-old kid.

Daniel saw the tears in her eyes. He walked over to her bed and sat down, "Hey, don't cry. It's going to be alright." He put his arm around her shoulders. "You know, you could tell your caseworker about him."

She shook her head and wiped her nose, "I did. After the first night, I told her that Brian knocked me into a wall and she told me I needed to stop causing fights. My last family got rid of me because I couldn't get along with the daughter. The family before that got rid of me because I swore in church. The family before that got rid of me because they got a new dog and they liked it more. My caseworker doesn't believe me. She says I'm trouble."

He didn't know what to say. He knew what it felt like to have no one look out for him. But Ella was his friend and hewanted todo what he could to keep her safe. "All right. When I am home, I'm going to do everything I can to keep him away from you. But hide in the closet when you have to. But you can't let Brian know about that lock. And be careful, okay?"

She nodded silently. Daniel broughthis book to Ella's room and they settled into their reading for a while.

After some time, Ella spoke again. "Daniel, what happened to your mom and dad?"

"They died when I was younger." He never liked to talk about it. What he'd seen, what he remembered. The blood, the chaos, everyone forgetting in the panic that there was a little boy who had just seen his parents crushed too death. No one had shielded his eyes.

"What were they like?"

It had been so long since anyone had asked him that. But time had not dulled his memories. "My dad was really funny. He told great stories. Everybody liked him. My mom was quieter, but she was really smart. Dad always said she was smarter than he was. They were archeologists so we traveled all over."

"What's an archeologist?"

"It's someone who studied history and the people who lived it."

"Is that what you want to be?"

He smiled up at her from his place on the floor. "Yeah, I think so."

Ella paused for a second, fidgeting with the cover of her book. "Do you miss them?"

The sudden pain in Daniel's chest silenced him for a moment. "Every day."

Ella rolled over onto her back and looked at the ceiling. "I miss my mom."

"How old were you when she died?"

"I was nine," she continued to look at the ceiling. "She was so nice. Really pretty. I didn't know my father so it was just mom and me. I liked it like that."

He heard her voice fill with a darker emotion. "What happened?"

"She met Peter," her tonehinted to Daniel that this was the boyfriend Mrs. Greerson had referred to on Ella's first night. "He moved in and everything went bad. I told her we didn't need him, but she said she loved him. He was just yucky."

Daniel tried to word his question carefully. "Is he, um, is he the reason she's dead?"

"Yeah," she rolled over to her side and traced the pattern of her comforter, over and over. "He started to do this thing were he kept walking in on me in the bathroom. Every time. I even tried blocking the door and that made him really angry. He busted the door lock. I told my mom what he was doing and she got so mad at him, she threw him out. Then I came home from school a few days later and I found her – and him – both dead. The police said he'd shot her and then himself." She looked up and Daniel recognized some of his own loss in her eyes.

"I saw my parents die," Daniel revealed slowly. "They were in a museum and part of a display fell over on them."

Ella considered that. "Daniel, we're friends, right?"

"I think so," he gave her a slight smile.

"And friends take care of each other, right?"

Daniel realized she was echoing his own thoughts from earlier, "Yes, we do."

"Then you take care of me and I'll take care of you. I think our moms and you dad would like that."

Daniel had to blink away some rare and unexpected tears before he could reply. "I think they would."

They went back to their books. Nothing more needed to be said.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

_Warnings: Strong language and violence._

_I realized that I have forgotten to put this in anywhere, so: Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ella. She is all mine and I love her dearly. (it's a wonder I don't treat her nicer...)_

_

* * *

_

Previously:

"Then you take care of me and I'll take care of you. I think our moms and you dad would like that."

Daniel had to blink away some rare and unexpected tears before he could reply. "I think they would."

They went back to their books. Nothing more needed to be said.

* * *

The Other Shoe 

When it all fell apart, it was a much bigger surprise than it should have been. Brian left Daniel and Ella alone for a long time. Of course, there were still the times the Daniel came home to Ella crying over something that Brian had said to her. And Brian and his friends would occasionally gang up on Daniel in the school hallways, pushing him around, scaring himand tossing his schoolbooks and paperseverywhere. But there were no major physical fights. Relative peace reigned in the house. Daniel's fears about Ella's closet and its lock slipped to the back of his mind.

Until summer. Without school to distract him, Brian started to get meaner. The younger children began to tiptoe around the house knowing that if they could just stay out of trouble for a little bit longer, Brian would be leaving to work as a camp counselor (something that Daniel privately found both ridiculous and frightening.)

It happened the day before Brian was leaving, two weeks before Daniel's 15th birthday. Brian was 17 now, and had grown in the past year. Unfortunately, Daniel had not. The Greersons were out shopping and Brian was hanging out with his friends. Daniel and Ella were in the living room watching television. Standing in front of the mantle piece mirror, Ella was trying in vain to make her hair look like the actress on TV. That was when Brian came home.

Daniel instantly picked up on the aggression in Brian's stance at the same time his nose registered a slight whiff of alcohol. Mentally, Daniel ordered Ella to get to her room _right now_ but it seemed that her ESP was not working any better than his own. Ella was frozen, caught in the act of having her defenses down. Her eyes were locked with Brian's in the mirror's reflection.

"Well," he drawled. "What's going on? Trying to make yourself pretty, loser-girl? You'd do better just shaving off that ratty ass hair and buying a wig. And, hey Sponge, what's your plan? Figure if you pretend she's cute she'll let you prove you're not a faggot?"

Hairbrush in hand, Ella whipped around. "Shut the fuck up Brian!" The brush flew out of her hand and smacked Brian across the face, leaving a nasty scratch. For a moment, everyone froze in shock.

The hell broke loose. Brian came roaring towards Ella who ducked under his arm and ran for the stairs. Brian raced after her with Daniel right behind him, yelling at Brian to stop. At the bedroom doorway, Brian grabbed a fistful of Ella's long red hair, bringing her to a screaming stop. Daniel threw himself on Brian, knocking Ella free. She made a mad dash to her closet. Brian righted himself just in time to hear the lock clunk home inside Ella's closet.

The larger boy turned and faced Daniel who felt pinioned by a strange feeling of inevitability. The blow-up that he had been dreading for most of the year was about to happen and there was a strange feeling of relief. Just as he thought to run, Brian grabbed him and slammed him into the closet door.

"All right, you little bitch. If this is the way you want it." Brian hollored. Using one hand to keep Daniel shoved into the door, Brian started to punch him. Daniel tried to defend himself, but the blows kept coming. Daniel could hear Ella screaming from inside the closet, begging Brian to stop. She pushed on the door from inside, but Brian was leaning into it with so much weight, she was trapped.

Daniel had been beaten up before. As an awkward kid with too many brains and who was often younger than his classmates, Daniel knew how to take a punch. But never before had anyone attacked him with the ruthlessness that Brian demonstrated that day. First he punched Daniel in the face, making his glasses fly across the room. The he slammed his fist into Daniel's stomach following up with a knee to the groin. As Daniel began to fall down, Brian thrust him into the wall again. Ella continued to scream frantically from inside her self-made prison.

The beating went on. Brian stomped on Daniel's feet and punched him in the ribs over and over again. For the final blow, Brian spun Daniel around by his hair and slapped his face into the doorframe. After a punishing blow to the kidneys, Brian let Daniel sag to the ground. He spat on the younger boy and strutted out of the room.

Daniel did not know how long he stayed on the floor, drifting in and out of consciousness. His whole being was wrapped up in pain. After some time, he became aware of a new sensation. He opened up his good eye and saw Ella leaning over him with a washcloth, a bowl of ice and a bowl of water at her side. Tears were streaming down her face but she tried not to make any noise.

"Ella," Daniel asked, as clearly as he could, "what's wrong?"

The damn burst and she started to sob, "Oh my god Daniel, I am so sorry. I tried to get out! I swear I did, but he had you pressed into the door so hard that I couldn't open it. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to throw the hairbrush. It just flew out of my hand. I thought he was going to kill you and this was all my fault. God, I am so sorry Daniel. I swear I'll never make him that mad again." Ella's words tumbled over themselves as she wiped blood off of Daniel's face.

His brain was too fogged with pain to follow everything that she said, but he was able to understand her point. "This wasn't - " Daniel went to sit up but had to stop when his stomach muscles clenched in a nausea inducing cramp " – your fault." He closed his eyes and focused on breathing for a few minutes. "Face it, - he was going to – blow – sooner or later."

"I though he was going to kill you."

_So did I_. "But he didn't." Daniel prayed that his stomach would stop churning and that the world would stop spinning. "Ella – I think I'm gonna – oh god - " Unable to sit up, Daniel could barely roll himself onto his side before he threw up. Once he was done, Ella left the room for paper towels and a cup of water. She cleaned up the mess and then sat by his head, holding ice to his face and stroking his hair. In his pain-filled haze, Daniel began to muse that it was his mother taking care of him as she had when he was young and sick. Comforted by the hallucination, Daniel passed out.

When he came to again, the room was dark. His pain had gone down a few notches and his mind was incrementally clearer. He groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" Ella's voice came out of the darkness.

"Yeah, I'm alive." Ella clicked on the overhead light. The sudden illumination felt likeknives in Daniel's brain. "Gagh! Turn that off!"

"Oh, sorry!" She turned off the overhead and switched on her softer bed lamp. She sat on her bed to talk to him. "No one's home. Mr.and Mrs. Greerson called to check in. They're gonna' be late. I don't know where Brian is. I told them that you were busy with a project." She watched him struggle to his feet. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"An aspirin would be nice," he replied.

Ella scurried downstairs while he staggered into the bathroom. _Good god_, he thought, catching his reflection in the mirror, _no wonder Ella looks so scared_. His right eye was swollen shut, his lips were scabbing over and his cheek was a solid bruise. Hoping that nothing was actually broken, Daniel carefully shrugged off his clothes and stepped into the shower.

Washing up took all of his remaining energy. When he went back to his room, he found Ella waiting for him there with his aspirin and more ice. He was too tired to do more than swallow the pills and press the ice to the side of his face. Lying down, hesquinted up at his friend.

"Brian leaves in the morning. I'll make sure he doesn't get in here before then," she said.

Slipping into sleep, Daniel found it hard to form words. "Ella, I'll be fine…" His voice trailed off as he lost his train of thought.

"Go to sleep, Daniel," Ella went and sat sentry by the door.

He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to be there. He tried to tell her that he would be fine and all of this would be okay. But it hurt to much tothink and he passed out again.

Sun was pouring into his room when he opened his eyes. His clock read 11:59 AM. _That's impossible_, he thought. _I never sleep that late._ He moved to get up and the memories of last night rushed over him.

"You're awake," there was a strong undercurrent of relief in Ella's voice. She walked over from where she had been reading. Before he could ask, she handed him two aspirin, a glass of water and his glasses.

"I guess I am," he swallowed the medicine. "Where is everyone?"

"They are driving Brian to camp today. They left hours ago and said they would not be back until tonight. I told them you had thrown up last night and were not feeling good today so that they would leave you alone. I figured it was close enough to the truth."

Daniel took a long look at his friend. The young girl was as white as paper and had deep circles under her eyes."Did you get any sleep last night?"

"I saw a show once where a person with a head injury had to be woken up a lot so he didn't die. I had to keep waking you up. I was worried. And I was afraid of what Brian might do when he came home. So I stayed here and woke you up every hour."

Now that he thought about it, he had vague memories of hearing his name called and being shaken several times during the night. "Thanks. I'm sorry that you didn't get any sleep, though. I'm up now, so why don't you get some rest?" When she just looked more worried Daniel assured her, "I'll be fine."

"But it was really hard to wake you up. I think you should see a doctor."

"I'll be okay. Please Ella, stop worrying."

She gave him a long skeptical look, one eyebrow raised. But her adult façade was shattered by a huge yawn that practically dislocated her jaw. With a deep sigh, she acquiesced. "Alright. But just for a minute. And if you need anything, come and get me."

"Agreed." Dragging her feet, Ella disappeared into her room as Daniel got out of bed. He struggled into shorts and a tee shirt and limped downstairs, flinching every time he put weight on his right foot, the one Brian stomped on. When he got to the kitchen, he was pathetically grateful that there was still coffee in the pot. Everyone told him that he was too young for it, but he loved the stuff. He walked out to the back porch and started to mull over the last night.

Sitting in the quiet sunshine, Daniel felt deeply humiliated. He had promised to take care of Ella, but he couldn't even take care of himself. He was almost 15 for god's sake and the traumatized little 12 year old was nurse-maiding _him_. He felt absolutely miserable. Brian was gone for now, but what would happen when he came back? Was Daniel always going to be someone's punching bag? He put serious thought into asking his case manager to move him to a different house, but he was scared to leave Ella here. His manager had no say over where Ella went. They had promised to take care of each other. Thinking about the way her face looked this morning, all pinched and fatigued, Daniel realized how truly awful it must have been for her last night. He would have gone insane if he had had to listen to Ella get beat up and had not been able to help. And she must have had to face Brian this morning when everyone was leaving. Daniel was not sure that he could have done that. No wonder she was trying so hard to help him. She really did think this was her fault. One way or the other, Daniel would help Ella stay safe. She was more than just a friend by now. She was his family. After spending a little more time indulging in self-pity and another mental round of "How Would Things Be Different If My Parents Hadn't Died?" Daniel came to the conclusion that however stupid and sore he might feel right now, he was still glad that it was he and not Ella that had gotten beat up. She was smaller and younger than he was. He would be fine.

He noticed a newspaper sitting on the porch next to him. Leafing aimlessly through it, he found something that surprised him out of his mood. The local museum was getting a traveling exhibit of rare Mayan artifacts. A prominent part of the tour was Nick's Crystal Skull that normally resided in either the Smithsonian or in Nick's laboratories for tests. The exhibit opened the same week as Daniel's birthday. It did not surprise Daniel that his grandfather would not think to mention this to him.

Daniel knew that Ella's birthday fell in August. As foster children, neither of them really looked forward to birthdays. They had once had a long, hilarious conversation about the various "gifts" that social services had deigned to toss their way. Maybe a trip to the museum would be a nice way to celebrate both of their birthdays and get over the last terrible 24 hours? Hoping that Ella was still asleep, he decided to reserve the tickets now and tell her about it later. His parents had left him some money in a bank account that he never touched. He could afford the tickets and a nice meal. Whatever it took, Daniel decided that both of them would have happy birthdays for a change.

* * *

TBC. 


	5. Chapter 5

_Quick notes: I may be using some artistic license with the timeline regarding Nick._

_The book Ella refers to here is The Boy Who Reversed Himself by William Sleator, which I read when I was about her age and I am happy to say is still in print (according to Amazon.) _

_Warning: Language and disturbing situations.

* * *

_

Previously:

Maybe a trip to the museum would be a nice way to celebrate both of their birthdays and get over the last terrible 24 hours? Hoping that Ella was still asleep, he decided to reserve the tickets now and tell her about it later. His parents had left him some money in a bank account that he never touched. He could afford the tickets and a nice meal. Whatever it took, Daniel decided that both of them would have happy birthdays for a change.

* * *

Museum Birthdays

On the morning of Daniel's 15th birthday, he was woken up by a very cheerful Ella holding a plate of cookies and a big mug of coffee. "Good morning, sunshine," she sing-songed to him.

"What's this?" He was squinting in to the sunshine, trying to figure out what was happening.

"It's breakfast. I baked."

Goodness, she could be cheery in the morning. "Cookies for breakfast?"

"What, you don't remember that Bill Cosby thing we saw? There's eggs in these cookies. Hell, there's even oatmeal so if you put milk in your coffee, you'd practically have a bowl of cereal." She sat cross-legged on his floor watching him poke at the chocolate chip-oatmeal creations. "Jeeze, Daniel, they're not gonna' poison you. I know how to make cookies."

He tried one. They were warm and terrific and he told her so. The coffee was strong enough to almost throw him out of bed. She had obviously made that as well.

"Mrs. Greerson picked up the groceries for me and said I could use the kitchen as long as I cleaned up afterwards. There are more downstairs because the recipe is huge."

Daniel swung his legs over the edge of the bed, wincing slightly. He was healing from Brian's attack but some soreness lingered. He had hid out for the first day or so, avoiding the adults. When Mrs. Greerson caught sight of his face, she had freaked. Daniel finally told her he had been jumped by some kids in the neighborhood but he did not know whom it had been. Her husband had said nothing but Daniel suspected that he knew exactly who had done the jumping. After all, Daniel had witnessed the father's own attempts at "making a man" out of his son.

"So, you said you had a surprise for me, but you wouldn't tell me until today," Ella said. "What is it?"

"Oh that's what this is?" Daniel asked through a mouthful of cookies. "A bribe?"

"Tell me!" she whined while tugging at his foot.

"All right, all right, don't whine." She sat back, satisfied. "There is an exhibit of ancient Mayan artifacts coming to the city museum. I want to go and I thought I would like to take you as well. We can celebrate our birthdays."

Ella's face looked as if she had bitten into a bad apple. "A museum?"

"Museums are great places! Why are you giving me that face?" It had not occurred to him that she would not be as excited as he was about it.

"It's a museum," she replied. "We go to them at school. You have to be quiet and look at a bunch of pictures of people who don't wear a lot of clothes."

This would take some convincing, he saw. "That's what it's like when you go to a boring museum with boring exhibits. But this is a natural history museum." Her unimpressed expression merely evolved to deeply skeptical. "Trust me, they are much cooler. I spent half my childhood in museums."

"That explains a lot," she muttered, quietly.

"Look, we'll take the bus, _without_ the adults," her interest perked up, "have lunch out, and then go to the museum. And, just so you know, the featured exhibit is one that my parents worked on. And the centerpiece item is something that made my grandfather famous." _Infamous_, spoke a quiet, bitter voice in Daniel's head.

"Will he be there?"

"No," he answered flatly. It had been awhile since he had even heard from Nick.

Ella considered all the information, "Do I have to wear a dress?"

He shook his head, slightly confused, "Umm, no. I really don't care what you wear, Ella."

She stood up. "Okay. Sounds like fun." She spoke with such hearty determination, that Daniel could tell she didn't mean it. But she would go along with it for his sake. "I have to do my dishes. I'll see you later. You gotta' a letter downstairs, by the way."

After his shower, Daniel went downstairs to the entryway where the mail was stacked. His letter was in an official looking envelope from Fairview Psychiatric Hospital, in Portland Oregon. Whatever it was, Daniel was sure it wasn't a birthday wish.

"_Dear Mr. Jackson._

_It is our duty to inform you that your relative, Mr. Nicolas Ballard, has admitted himself to our care. You may contact Dr. Fred Rossi at 971-555-2799 for further information. _

_Sincerely,_

_Brenda Blynth, RCN_

_Admissions_

_Fairview Psychiatric Hospital"_

He reread the letter several times before folding it back into its envelope. He walked upstairs and buried it in his sock drawer. He told himself it didn't matter. He told himself there was no reason to feel scared.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The morning of the museum trip, Daniel dressed with care. His parents had drilled respect for museums into his head since birth. He even went so far as to iron his pants and shirt. Then he waited downstairs for Ella. The house was empty, as had been the case for most of the summer. His thoughts drifted to Nick and the hospital, but he squashed the musings. He didn't want to think about it.

"Tada!" Ella jumped in the room with her arms held wide. "Look, I'm a girl!" Indeed she was. Daniel was shocked to see that his tomboyish friend was in a blue sundress. She had a white cardigan tied around her waist. Instead of her normal messy ponytail, she had pulled her hair back with a simple Alice band. She was even carrying a small purse. There was a weird twisting sensation in Daniel's stomach as he realized that Ella looked really pretty. Brian's insults from two weeks ago echoed in his head, and he did not know what to say.

"It's about time," he fumbled.

"Am I late?" she asked.

"No…let's just go." He went out the front door, ignoring the look of confusion on Ella's face.

As they walked to the bus stop, Ella chattered on. "And this purse? This was a gift from Mrs. Greerson, can you believe it? I've never had one before, but I figured what the hell – sorry, heck – it looked pretty. She gave it to me early for today. Do you like it?"

"Huh? Oh,it's okay," Daniel looked his watch and peered up the street for the bus.

"Daniel, are you mad about something?" she finally asked.

"What? No, Ella I'm sorry. The purse is great. You look – nice today." Ella glowed under the compliment, which resurrected the weird feeling in Daniel's stomach. _What is wrong with me today?_ He didn't feel too talkative on the bus trip. After a few failed attempts at conversation, Ella finally pulled a book out of her purse and read.

Daniel say in a moody silence. Against his better judgment, he had called Nick's hospital yesterday. His grandfather had indeed admitted himself there. Daniel couldn't remember a time when Nick hadn't been ranting about his "Giant Aliens" that he claimed to encounter through the Crystal Skull. The Skull had become famous despite Nick's best efforts to convince the world he was a crackpot. Now look where it had gotten him.

Ella shifted in her seat, distracting Daniel from his thoughts. She was deep in her book. It still surprised him to see how much she enjoyed reading, considering how much she had resisted it at first. His eyes were pulled to her hair as he noticed how shiny it looked today.

"What?" Ella had noticed his look and reached to fix whatever he was staring at.

"Nothing." Turning very red, Daniel looked out the window. He just didn't feel like himself today. With his grandfather and …everything…he was confused and irritable. But it was Ella's birthday as well as his own and he was determined that they would have fun today.

By the time they got to the city, Daniel had placed a smile on his face. They had chosen a casual place to eat, where they hoped that two kids on their own would not be noticed. After they ordered, Ella asked about the Mayan artifacts. Or "things" as she called them.

"Well, my family was involved with finding some of the items in the collection," Daniel responded. "In fact, I think I was at the dig, but I was really young."

"Dig?"

"That's what archeologists call their worksites. They are normally digging stuff out of the dirt."

"Sounds fun when you put it that way. What's this Crystal Skull thingy?" Ella started to nibble from the breadbasket.

Daniel considered what to say. "Well, um, Nick, my grandfather found the Skull in Belize in 1971. And it was a pretty big deal…" His voice had tightened a little, making Ella look at him.

"Why was it such a big deal? Was it diamond or something?"

Daniel decided to drop the smaller bomb about Nick. "It was a big deal because Nick said that he was pulled through the eyes into a huge cave where aliens spoke to him."

At that moment, the waitress arrived with their food. This gave Daniel something to do besides looking at Ella's stunned face. As soon as the waitress walked away, Ella spoke again.

"Ohmygod! Was he? Did he really see aliens?"

"What? No, Ella, there were no aliens."

"Well, maybe there were but no one can get to them now because the Skull isn't where it needs to be to make it happen!"

"Huh?" He did not know how to deal with her taking this idea seriously.

"It's like the book I'm reading. This guy, Omar, he's like the guardian to other dimensions. Nobody knows, everyone just thinks he's weird and crazy." Daniel flinched at this word. "But he's not. And at some point, this girl goes into the other dimension and then she knows, too."

He reached for a reasonable tone, "But that book was fiction. Nick was – confused – or something fell on his head or something."

"A lot of people believe in aliens."

"Even with that, believing in them and then believing that they can suck you through a statue, speak to you and then spit you back out are two very different things." He tried to finish with a strong "end of discussion" tone.

It must have worked. Ella spent a few moments considering everything before asking what else was in the museum.

"I'm not positive. I think they have dinosaurs."

"Ooooo! Dinosaurs! Can we see them?"

"Sure." He was just happy to have a new subject to talk about.

"Cool. Let's save them for last, after the artifacts." He smile told him that she found old, dead reptiles far more interesting than anything else in the museum.

After enormous desserts, they walked over to the museum. As soon as they entered, Daniel felt at home. It had been so long since he had been in a museum without his class and an annoying teacher. And knowing that he was close to items that his parents had worked with made him feel good.

"Do we get in for free because your family was involved with the stuff?" Ella wanted to know.

"No and please don't tell anyone." The last thing Daniel wanted was to have museum officials fussing over him. Or, worse yet, identify him with Nick.

"Why not? I think it would be fun - "

"Ella, please just don't okay?"

"All right, fine." Ella looked baffled at his latest mood swing. "Can we just go look at the stuff?"

"Sounds great," he replied.

The exhibit was easy to find. It was a bittersweet moment for Daniel to see his mom's name on an identification card for a piece of ancient jewelry. He pointed it out to his friend.

"_Discovered by Dr. Claire Ballard Jackson_. Daniel, that's so cool!" She was as thrilled as he was. They walked the large room, Daniel sharing what he knew. Ella was an appreciative audience. She had many questions, several he couldn't even answer.

Slowly, they made there way to the room that housed the Crystal Skull. It was alone in a dark room with a small light illuminating it from beneath. It looked both fearsome and beautiful.

As Daniel walked closer, he felt overcome with emotions. As beautiful as the Skull was, and as much as he revered history, Daniel wanted to smash the relic to the ground and destroy it. _You ruined Nick's life_, Daniel thought, staring into the empty eye sockets. _You took my grandfather away from me_.

"Daniel," Ella's voice was hushed, but it startled him nonetheless. "I don't think you should look at it like that."

He didn't look away. "Why not?"

She edged closer. "What if your – what if Nick was right? They could take you too."

"Ella, he wasn't right. There are no aliens," he said firmly.

"I'm just saying - "

"Well don't okay?" He snapped as he turned to her. "Don't 'just say.' You don't know what you're talking about here, so don't pretend that you do."

The harshness in Daniel's voice made Ella gasp. She gaped at him for a moment, clearly torn between anger and tears. Finally, she snapped her jaw shut and spun on her heel, fleeing the room.

_Dammit!_ Daniel thought. Why was he being so mean to her today? None of this was her fault. None of it. Not being attacked by Brian, not Nick losing his mind, and certainly not the existence of the stupid Crystal Skull that sat, leering at him in the dimness. Muttering a very Ella-like word and shooting the skull a parting glare, Daniel went to go find his friend.

Ella was standing in the main foyer, staring up at the giant brontosaurus that graced the entrance. When she saw Daniel coming, she turned her back on him, swiping her hand across her face.

"Ella, I'm - "

"I'm not stupid Daniel. _You're_ the one that keeps telling me that!" She kept her back to him.

"I know you're not, Ella. I had no right to talk to you like that."

She whipped around. "You're damn right you didn't. What is wrong with you? Why are you being such a dick today?"

For half a second, Daniel was taken aback by the term, then he realized she was right. "I'm sorry. Being here…it's just…everything seems weird and wrong today."

She was not ready to forgive him yet, but she softened a little. "Why? What's wrong?" she asked plaintively.

What could he do? He had to tell someone before he ended up on a bed next to Nick. He sat on a bench by the dinosaur. "I found out that Nick, my grandfather, was admitted to a mental hospital. He's sick and I don't think he'll be okay anytime soon."

"Oh. Oh my god," Ella sat next to him. "Wow, what does this mean?"

He couldn't look at her face, choosing to examine the bench instead. "I don't know. The doctors said that he had a complete nervous breakdown. I called but they wouldn't let me speak with him. They said he wasn't ready, whatever that means."

"He must be so scared."

That was the last reaction Daniel expected. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, he's crazy, but he thinks he was kidnapped by aliens, right? What if he thinks they are still coming for him? And he's all alone in there."

Daniel looked long and hard at her, trying to figure out if she was making a joke. It didn't seem that she was. "Ella, would you like to go look at dinosaurs?"

She smiled and reached for his hand, "Let's go."

Hours later, tired from crawling around every distant corner of the museum, Daniel and Ella got back on the bus to go home. As she watched the museum disappear in the distance Ella said, "You know, Daniel, maybe someday everyone will find out that aliens are real and Nick isn't crazy after all."

"Aliens or not, I think that Nick will always be Nick."

She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder, slowly dozing off. Daniel felt better than he had in days.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The rest of the summer passed in relative peace. Despite a few disturbing dreams, Daniel's daytime feelings about Ella stayed where he was comfortable. On Ella's birthday, Mrs. Greerson went into a surprising and slightly disturbing paroxysm of motherliness. She took her charges out for pizza and took a "commemorative photo" of the two of them to mark the occasion.

A week later, Brian came home. Some of the light went out of Ella's eyes and she and Daniel began to spend more time out of the house. School was going to start soon. Ella's efforts over the past year paid off and she would be placed with children her age. Daniel and Brian would be in their senior year.

A few nights before school started, Daniel dreamed that he and Ella were walking together down a street. He felt something leaking from his nose and Ella looked at him with mild alarm. Putting his hand to his face, Daniel realized that it was blood coursing down his face. He fell to his hands and knees as the blood came on harder. Ella continued to look on, offering no help. The blood turned to bright hot sand. Pouring from both his nose and his mouth, Daniel's sand covered everything he could see. Emptied at last and gasping for air, Daniel turned to see Ella holding hands with Nick. They smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait." Daniel called out. "Don't leave me alone here!"

"You're not alone," Nick's voice floated over the desert.

"Told you he wasn't crazy," Ella added.

Daniel woke with Ella's words echoing in his head. The cool darkness felt odd after the blazing heat of his dreamscape. Unsettled, he decided to go downstairs for something to drink. As he quietly took the stairs, he heard Brian speaking to someone. Daniel froze on the stairs, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping.

"You got a lot prettier since I left. I may just have to be nicer to you. Would you like that?"

A curious numbness trickled down Daniel's body as he peered over the stair railing to see whom Brian was talking to. It took his brain a few moments to register what he saw, even as every nerve endingwas screaming at him to _wake up!_ Brian was leaning over Ella in the hallway. Light spilled from his bedroom door. Brian had one hand resting on her shoulder while the other trailed through her hair.Her face was shadowed in darkness.

"Ella?" Daniel's voice shattered the gloom.

The girl jumped. Daniel could see now that Ella's eyes were wide with fear and embarrassment. She slapped Brian's hands away and ran upstairs, brushing past Daniel. He heard her door slam shut. Brian stayed where he was, looking at Daniel before walking into his own room. When the door closed, Daniel was alone in the dark. Thirst forgotten, he remounted the stairs. He stared at Ella's closed door for a long time, but he didn't knock.

* * *

TBC 


	6. Chapter 6

Alone together 

After the night in the hallway, the ease of Daniel and Ella's summertime friendship was gone. Daniel was awake most of the first night trying to figure out what he had seen. Why had Brian had his hands in Ella's hair? Why was Ella talking to him in the first place? Why had Ella run only when she had seen Daniel? He felt confused and angry and had no idea what to do about it.

And Ella was not talking. By the time Daniel had woken up the next morning, Ella was out of the house. She didn't come home until just before dinner and she retreated to her bedroom immediately after eating. She did not look at Daniel or Brian once during the meal.

Several weeks went by. School started. There were no shared trips to the library and Ella did not ask for help with her homework. Despite his confusion, Daniel missed her terribly. She was the only real friend he had ever had. He didn't even know how to talk to her anymore. But the silence fed into itself and everything felt worse as the month went on.

One Friday near the end of September, Daniel was coming out of his room at the same moment that Ella was coming up the stairs. They stared at each other in the hallway.

"Hey, Ella." Awkwardness seized Daniel voice before he could say anymore.

Ella said nothing. She stared at him, breathing hard, before she spun into her room, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "dumbass." Her door slammed in Daniel's face. He stood there feeling like an idiot. A small, cowardly voice told him to walk away, but he chose not to listen to it. He knocked. When there was no answer, he entered anyway. The room was empty so he walked over to the closet.

"Ella?" He tapped lightly at the closet door. "Are you in there?" There was no answer, but he thought he heard movement. "Look, if you are in there, can you please come out? You look upset. I just want to know what's wrong."

"Go away." She sounded livid, but Daniel was heartened that at least she wasn't calling him names.

"Ella, please tell me what's wrong." She opened the door. Standing in front of him, her face wet with tears, Daniel realized for the first time that Ella had grown over the summer. She was almost as tall as him now. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you care?" she shot back at him.

"Because you're my friend."

"Bullshit! You won't even talk to me anymore!"

"That's not true!" he protested, knowing that it was. "I've been busy. You've been busy too."

"You hate me and I don't know why!" Her fear exposed, Ella dissolved into tears. She sank onto the floor sobbing. Daniel was dumbfounded. He had seen Ella cry before; he had _made _her cry before. But he had never seen her fall apart like this.

"Ella – no – I don't hate you," he stammered.

"Then why won't you talk to me anymore?" she wailed, looking up at him in despair.

"I – uh – oh god." Daniel had a flash of clarity. All of this time he had felt that Ella had betrayed him by being nice to Brian. He had been so mad he never asked her to explain what was going on. He sat next to her feeling like an idiot.

"It's because of Brian, isn't it? Because of what you saw in the hallway," she asked in a smaller voice. "But I wasn't talking to him Daniel. He came out of his room and started talking to me. I could never be his friend after what he did to you!"

"I know, Ella. I'm sorry. I have been really stupid." Ella nodded her head, not inclined to disagree with him. "Can you tell me what happened that night?"

She was quiet for a few moments while she wiped her face. "I don't know. I went downstairs because I was hungry. Brian came out of his room and started talking to me. He was saying that I looked pretty and that he liked that. I tried to go back upstairs but he backed me into the wall. Then he started…" her hands gestured vaguely to her hair "…touching my hair…I don't like it when he does that."

A stone dropped in Daniel's stomach. "You don't like…Ella, has Brian done something since then?"

She bit her lip before nodding slowly. "Yes. I don't know what to do. He comes up behind me and he asks me…questions…"

"Like what?"

"Like…did I make myself pretty today just for him…would I like it if he was nice to me…did I miss him this summer…and sometimes he asks if you and I – um – I just don't like it when he talks like that but he won't stop." She stopped talking as she bit her lip hard and closed her eyes, wiping them roughly with her fists.

What Ella was telling Daniel really scared him. It sounded like other situations he had heard about, from other foster children. Something bad was building up. He knew it. "Has he hurt you?"

"No. But he's scaring me." Her voice broke.

"Oh Ella," he put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him, sighing deeply. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone like this."

"It's not your fault," she sniffled.

"No, I just shouldn't have been this dumb. Have you – have you told anyone about this?"

She nodded yes. "I told my case manager."

Daniel knew that probably didn't help. "What did she say?"

Ella sighed again. "I told her that he beat you up and she said 'boys will be boys.' I told her that he was mean to me and she said that it is hard for him to have all of these people in the house and I just needed to understand where he is coming from. And then I told her that – he's been – saying things – and she asked if I had a _crush _on him! Ugh." She shuddered.

He squeezed her shoulder a little closer. "I am sorry. I have been such a lousy friend this month."

She looked up at him. "Are we friends again?"

"Always." They smiled at each other for a few moments, until Daniel had to look away and clear his throat. "Um, hey Ella. Would you like to go to the library tomorrow?"

She rolled her eyes a little and said, "Sounds like fun."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

On the way to their favorite refuge the next day, Daniel thought about something he had meant to ask her. "What was wrong yesterday? I mean I know you were mad at me and everything, but was there something else?"

A small grin played around her lips. "I got the highest grade in class on my Algebra test."

"That's great! So why were you so upset?"

Her grin twisted into a grimace. "My teacher announces the top grade in front of the class. When everyone heard it was me they were pretty surprised. After school, some girls came around and started to push me and say that I was just a stupid welfare case and the only way I got a good grade was that the teacher felt sorry for me. I told them they were just jealous and they should shut up before I shut them up, but there were a lot of them and just one of me so my threat really didn't work. They just pushed me down and said that I was stupid and ugly too and no book would fix that." She repeated this last part softly and looked at the ground.

Daniel bumped his shoulder into hers. "You know, I think you have the right word for those girls."

"Yeah, but they would have kicked my ass if I said it out loud."

Once he figured out what she meant, he laughed. "No. I meant 'jealous.' Ella, look at me." She bit her lip and looked up. "You are not stupid and you are definitely not ugly."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks. I shouldn't let them get to me. Hey, I got an 'A' on an Algebra test! Yay me!"

They laughed together as they went into the library. Ella settled into work on a school report while Daniel went to research on an independent project. He hadn't told anyone what he was doing. He was too scared that they would lock him in a mental hospital next to his grandfather. But something that Ella had said at the museum had stayed in his mind for months. What if the Skull didn't work because it had been moved? Against his will, Daniel had done some research on Crystal Skulls through history. This led him to looking at aliens. He was shocked at how many sane, rational people not only believed in aliens, but believed that they had had encounters with them. The more he read, the more he felt a little…something…nagging at the back of his brain. It felt similar to learning a new language. A connection was being made even if he could not see it yet.

After several hours of research, Daniel and Ella were ready to go. Ella stepped outside for air while Daniel pulled together his much bigger mess. When he stepped out to join her, his heart stopped in his chest.

Brian had Ella pinned against the wall. One hand was gripping her around her ribcage while his other was threaded through her hair, pulling her head back. "Come on," he was saying. "Just a little kiss won't hurt you." Ella was struggling to hide her fear and to make him let her go.

"Let her go, Brian," Daniel demanded.

Brian swiveled his head around to the younger boy. "This doesn't concern you, Sponge. Fuck off."

Daniel decided he didn't care what Brian did to him anymore. "No. Let her go and leave her alone."

Brian released Ella, who sagged against the wall, catching her breath. "When did you decide to grow some balls, fag?"

Fear crawled up the back of Daniel's throat but he ignored it. "Just leave us alone, Brian."

"Or what? You think you can take me?"

Daniel did not reply. He just waited for Brian to make a move.

Sure enough, Brian didn't fail him. The larger boy swung a roundhouse punch at Daniel. Relying on reflexes he did not know he had, Daniel ducked and then came up swinging the large book he was carrying. The sharp corner caught Brian in his chin and blood shot out of the wound. Brian reeled back from the unexpected hit and Ella crashed her overstuffed book bag to his head. Brian hit the ground. The surprised victors stared at each other for a split second before grabbing hands and running.

They ran around the back of the library and kept going until they ran out of breath in an alley. Ducking behind a trash dumpster, they crouched listening to Brian scream for them. Daniel was afraid to breathe.

Strange snuffling sounds came from behind him. He turned and saw that Ella was hiding her face in her hands and shaking. "Ella, it's okay. I don't think he knows where we are."

Her face emerged and he saw that she was crying because she was trying not to laugh. Her eyes were shining. "Oh my god!" she squeaked. "He is just gonna' kill us."

Daniel looked at her, unable to reply. And then he started to laugh. And then he _really_ started to laugh. They stayed in the ally, laughing hysterically, victorious for once in their lives.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

_Warnings: Language and Extreme Violence._

_

* * *

_

Previously:

Her face emerged and he saw that she was crying because she was trying not to laugh. Her eyes were shining. "Oh my god!" she squeaked. "He is just gonna' kill us."

Daniel looked at her, unable to reply. And then he started to laugh. And then he _really_ started to laugh. They stayed in the ally, laughing hysterically, victorious for once in their lives.

* * *

Endings Begin

It was the letter Daniel had waited for for years. Yet, now that it had arrived, he was tempted to bury it in the backyard and never think about it again. He was going to college. At 15, almost 16, he had been accepted into a prestigious archeology program. Even better, the school offered a summer program that a few select students were invited to. Daniel was one of the few.

He sat in the kitchen feeling the beginnings of a headache creep up his neck. He didn't know what to do. He wanted this. He couldn't remember ever wanting anything this bad in his entire life. He would no longer be a foster child. He would be a college student; still a ward of the state, but no longer subjected to living with a sadistic 18 year old named Brian.

But Ella would. His going to college would leave her here alone. Daniel placed his glasses on the table and massaged his temples. The past year had been difficult. The fight at the library had changed things. There had been very few violent incidents at home. School was still a danger zone but even that was different. For one thing, Daniel had finally grown a little. Six inches in eight months. Consequently, the fights were not as one-sided as they used to be. Daniel still lost, but he tried to some damage on the way down. It was Brian's behavior towards Ella that had deteriorated. At dinnertime, Brian would sit and stare at the girl, making comments under his breath, until she was so nervous that she would begin to drop things from the table. Sooner or later, she would lash out at him, only to get punished for cursing at the table. The extra kitchen work she was given gave Brian more time to mess with her head.

It took Daniel a few weeks to figure this game out. Mrs. Greerson would normally send everyone to his or her respective rooms after an argument. Once. Late in November, Daniel came back downstairs for a drink. Brian was standing right behind Ella at the sink. He was not touching her, but he was breathing down her neck, giving nasty insults. Ella was staring straight ahead into the wall with wide blank eyes. Only the shaking of her hands as she washed the dishes reflected her fear. As soon as Daniel entered the kitchen, Brian walked into his own room and shut the door. Deeply disturbed, Daniel helped Ella rush through the remaining work so they could escape upstairs. He sat down with her and asked her what had been happening.

Slowly, Ella revealed that that was not the first time Brian had done that. Every night she did dishes, Brian would come up behind her, never touching her, but scaring her senseless. She had not told Daniel because she was afraid he would get hurt.

"Ella, I can take care of myself. Please, _please_ tell your case manager."

"I have. I've told you before, she doesn't believe me." Ella insisted. "I'm not trying again."

After that night, she tried to stop reacting when Brian goaded her. When she was on her regular kitchen duty nights, Daniel stayed with her. But it really felt that neither of them was safe to let their guard down. The only time they came close to relaxing was when they were studying in their bedrooms or when they escaped to the library. They had decided to continue going there despite the fight. It was their refuge and they would fight again for it if they had to.

When Daniel did see Brian mistreating his friend, he jumped in, earning himself a few black eyes. But he knew there were times he missed. As the year progressed, Ella grew quieter. Often Daniel tried to convince Ella to request a new home but she refused. She knew her case manager would be no help and at least in this house she had a friend.

But now Daniel was going to leave. He had to make Ella see reason. And he had to figure out a way to convince her case manager that Ella was not safe here.

His sadness at leaving his friend flickered through his heart when she entered the kitchen. "Hey, Daniel, what's up?" They were the only ones home.

"Ella, I have to tell you something," Daniel looked down at the packet in his hand.

"Sure." She grabbed a can of pop and sat down across the table. "Something wrong?"

"No – well – not really – sort of -" Daniel tried to put his thoughts in order. "I've been accepted into college."

"But – Daniel – that's crazy! You're only 15." She was stunned.

"Well, yeah, but I am done with school so it's time to move on."

She gave him a genuine smile. "That's great. Wow! That's huge."

"There's more." He took a deep breath and continued. "There is a special program that starts in the summer. I've been selected for it. I'll be moving out in three weeks."

Ella's smile froze. For a moment, Daniel could see the naked terror in her eyes. She would be alone here. Then she looked down at the table and forced a light-hearted tone. "Wow, three weeks…good for you…I wish…" She had to stop talking as tears threatened.

"Ella, please," Daniel reached across the table and touched her balled up fist. "We will talk to your case manager. We will make her believe us. You'll be safer somewhere else."

She swiped at her face. "It's okay. I mean, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

He tightened his hold on her hand. "No Ella. I promise. You won't have to stay here alone when I leave." She gripped his hand, desperately.

At that moment, Brian came in the back door. "What the fuck, Sponge? Still trying to get a piece of that ass? I can tell you, it ain't worth it."

Pushed past her limit, Ella flew across the room at Brian. She reached forward with her nails and raked them down his neck, drawing blood. Brian backhanded her across the room. Coming to her senses, Ella scrambled to her feet and ran, Brian right behind her. Shaking off an overwhelming deja-vu, Daniel ran after them, screaming at Brian to stop.

At the foot of the stairs, Brian swiftly turned and punched Daniel in the stomach. Daniel caught himself on the railing but lost precious seconds in his chase. He heard Ella scream as he raced up the stairs. He got to her room in time to see Brian grab her by her ponytail and throw her in the closet. Daniel dove for the closet door as Brian slipped in behind his prey. The lock slid home.

"_BRIAN! NO!_" Daniel clawed at the door, yanking at the handle with all of his weight. But the lock held true. He pressed his ear to the wood but heard nothing. Daniel furiously pounded on the door. "_ELLA! _Brian get away from her! Leave her alone!" He frantically looked around the room, trying to find something that he could break the door down with. Panic filled his mind. What was going on? Why was it so quiet? He ran into his own room, trying to find a tool. Throwing things every which way, he finally found a screw driver. Back in Ella's room, he began to dig frantically at the door hinges. Right then, the lock clunked open. Daniel stood up to face what was coming.

Brian exited the closet, zipping up his pants. Despite the blood on his neck, he looked immensely pleased with himself. Dawning horror burned through the panicked fog of Daniel's mind. Meeting Daniel's eyes, Brian sneered darkly and patted the younger boy, hard, on the cheek. "Now that was fun." He was out of the room before Daniel could move.

"Ella? Ella?" Daniel crawled into the closet to find his friend. She was curled up against the far wall. He eyes were tightly closed and her breathing was rapid and shallow. Daniel reached to touch her face. "Ella? Are you okay?"

As he touched her, her eyes snapped open. Even in the dim light, Daniel could see the depths of her pain. She didn't scream or cry, didn't make a sound. She just continued to stare at him in that terrible way.

"Come on, Ella. Come on out. He's gone now." He wasn't sure if Ella could even hear him, as she seemed so deep into herself. But he need to get her into the light so he could see what damage Brian had done. It seemed like an eternity past before Ella reached out her hand. Gently, speaking to her as he would an injured kitten, Daniel led her into the room. There was a nasty bruise on the side of her face from where Brian had backhanded her. Her hair was a mess, having been yanked all over the place. Her shirt was bunched and stretched but her clothes were all on. Daniel assessed all of the details with a scientist's eye, but he knew what he was looking for. He knew but he couldn't even think the word to himself. "Ella, what happened? I need you to tell me what happened." _Please, God,_ he prayed silently. _If you are really up there, do not let this have happened._ Daniel had to repeat his question twice more before she showed any sign of hearing him. Then she shook her head, minutely. She said nothing.

After another moment, Ella started to shiver. Her body shook as if it had been hit by an arctic wind. Daniel led her to her bed and wrapped blankets around her and knelt at her feet. He didn't know what had happened in that closet, but it was obvious that Ella was hurting far more than she could handle. "Ella, please…" Tears started to fall down Daniel's face. "I need to know you're okay. Can you please tell me? Anything?" Again, she gave no response. Just a small head shake. Daniel sat next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her blanket draped body. His own body now shook with the force of her trauma.

He would never know how long he sat there. Time meant nothing. As darkness fell outside the window, Ella's shaking stopped. After some more time, she fell asleep. Daniel lay her down on the bed. Remembering what she had done for him last summer, he lay down by the door. No one else would get in her room tonight.

At some point, Daniel woke to find Ella curled up next to him. She was shaking again. He stroked her hair and said soothing words until she fell back to sleep.

Early in the morning, Daniel opened his eyes to the gray light of dawn. The room was empty. His heart seized as he called out Ella's name but got no response. He entered the bathroom. Like a scream in the night, the pile of hacked off red hair took shook Daniel to his core. Ella's hair was lying in the middle of the bathroom floor with a large pair of scissors lying open, half buried in the mess. And there was something else. Mixed with the hair were sliced up magazine pictures of flowers. It was the remains of Ella's "secret garden."

* * *

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

_Warnings: Language_

_Correction: In the last chapter I realized I made a stupid typo. The line should read: _

"Right then, the lock clunked open. **Daniel** stood up to face what was coming." _Sorry about any confusion. I swear I spell check and proof read. _

* * *

Previously: 

Like a scream in the night, the pile of hacked off red hair took shook Daniel to his core. Ella's hair was lying in the middle of the bathroom floor with a large pair of scissors lying open, half buried in the mess. And there was something else. Mixed with the hair were sliced up magazine pictures of flowers. It was the remains of Ella's "secret garden."

* * *

Growing Up, Growing Old

Daniel quickly made his way downstairs. He could hear Mrs. Greerson before he got to the kitchen. "I just don't understand, Ella. If you wanted a haircut, why didn't you just tell me? And what happened to your face?"

Daniel entered the kitchen, unnoticed. Mrs. Greerson was right; Ella looked terrible. Her hair had been cut into jagged clumps. A few spots were cut almost to her scalp, other locks hung down to her chin. There was a long, dark bruise marking the side of her face and several smaller bruises circling her neck. Daniel had not noticed them last night. Now they made his stomach clench in fear and anger.

She was wearing jeans and a tank top, as if she was flaunting her wounds for the older woman to see. Mrs. Greerson went on and on, trying to find out what was wrong but Ella just stood silent, bracing herself by the sink. Finally the adult wound down. She saw Daniel standing by the doorway and snapped at him, "Maybe you can make sense out of her!" With that, she flounced out of the room. The teens were left alone.

Ella's eyes had dropped to the floor as soon as she noticed Daniel. He realized that it had been pure rage that had fueled her through her haircut and the destruction of her closet. Now she seemed to shrink before his eyes. The silence stretched until Ella moved to leave the room.

"Ella, wait," he moved to block her path. She stopped but her eyes remained on the floor. Daniel scrambled for something to say. "Are you – okay?" She nodded silently. "Well – what's going on? Why did you cut your hair?" She shrugged. Frustrated with her silence, Daniel reached for her shoulders. "Ella - " In a flash she had batted his arms away and sprung back to the sink. They stared at each other in shock. Embarrassment joined the shame in Ella's eyes while Daniel berated himself for his stupidity.

"I'm sorry," Ella muttered in a small voice. Two high spots of color now warred with the bruises on her cheeks.

"What happened last night?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing."

"Why won't you tell me what he did?"

"He didn't do anything, Daniel. Nothing happened! He pulled me into the closet and slapped me and that's all."

"How did you get the bruises around your neck?"

"I don't know," she muttered.

"Why did you cut your hair?"

She squirmed and her voice got even softer, "I don't know."

Hating himself, Daniel kept pushing. He had to know. "Why did you cut up your pictures?"

"_I don't know!" _She breathed, biting her lip.

"Ella - "

"Daniel, stop! Please!" Her voice was little more than a breath but the intense pain silenced him at last. "I can't…nothing happened. Nothing!" She looked into his eyes,her desperatefear exposed. "He knows what happened to my mom. He said he would do to you what Peter did to her."

The meaning of Ella's words caught Daniel off guard. Brian had threatened to kill him? That explained why she wouldn't talk. "Ella, no. It's okay, you can tell me. I'll be fine."

"Prove it."

"What?"

She snapped. Her rage poured out of her, too big for tears. "Prove it, Daniel! You say it will all be okay, so prove it. Prove to me that I won't come home tomorrow and find you beat to death or – or – or shot in the head or something because I couldn't keep my fucking mouth shut."

Daniel wanted to reach out to his friend. There had to be a way to fix this. "Then I'll tell someone. I'll call my case manager. I'll make her listen. I'll tell her that Brian is hurting you."

"No!" She got in his face. "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this. They won't…Please, Daniel, nothing happened!"

They stared at each other for a long silent moment.Finally, Ella walked out of the kitchen and out of the house. He sat heavily at the table. The enormity of what he was facing threatened to break him. Afterone futile wish for an adult that he could confide in, Daniel realized it was all up to him. He didn't need Ella's confirmation to know what happened in the closet last night. And it would happen again and again and again he didn't stop it. Ella was too scared.

Daniel had grown up in the past two years. He had learned how to stand up for himself. Now he had to stand up for Ella. He just hoped that she would still be his friend when everything was over.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hours later, Daniel sat fidgeting in the office of his case manager. He had only been here twice before and never at his own request. After a short time, he was called into her office.

"Good afternoon, Daniel," Ms. Ellison smiled at her charge. "I was going to call you and congratulate you on your college admission. I knew you could do it."

"Thank you," Daniel swallowed and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "I need to talk to you about something else, though."

"Sure. Shoot." She sat back and waited for him.

Daniel looked at the carpet under his feet, feeling very unsure of himself. "Um…it's Ella…the girl I live with. She's um…she's not…" He struggled to find the right words.

"Daniel, what is it?" Concerned, Ms. Ellison leaned forward in her seat.

"He's hurting her!" Daniel blurted out, gripping the arms of his chair. "She won't tell me what he did, but Brian is hurting her."

"Brian? The Greerson's son? What is he doing?"

"I don't know," he replied softly. "She won't tell me. She's too scared."

"Okay," she said. "I'll call her case manager. We can set up a home inspection."

"No. You have to get her out of there. Now. She's not safe there."

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't _know!_" Daniel saw the woman's head snap back as his voice rose. "He – he – he pulled her into a closet last night. I couldn't get to her in time. I know he hit her and she's saying that's all he did. But when he came out…he was zipping up his pants." Tears came to Daniel's eyes as he remembered. "She was on the floor and she couldn't speak. She won't tell me anything. Please Ms. Ellison. I'm leaving in three weeks. I can't protect her if I'm not there. I can't even protect her when I am," he finished bitterly. His failure burned at him.

She had been making notes the whole time he spoke. "Daniel, it's not your job to protect her."

"Well somebody has to!" He lost his temper and started to yell. "And the adults who are supposed to do are doing a lousy job of it!"

"Daniel - "

"No!" He cut her off. "I know the rules. I am reporting that a child in the foster care system is being abused. You are required to protect her. So do it!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Later that night, Daniel stood by his bookcase, sorting his books. Suddenly, Ella burst through his door, as mad as he had ever seen her. She jabbed him in his chest, knocking his books to the floor. "You son of a bitch. What did you do?"

"Ow, Ella, stop!" He grabbed her hand. "What's wrong with you?"

"You told someone. They're taking me out of here tomorrow. I told you _nothing happened_."

"And I don't believe you!" He yelled back. "I think you're lying because you're scared. But I had to do something."

"But, if I leave, he's gonna' hurt you. Call them back. Tell them nothing happened. Tell them you were wrong. Tell them it's all okay."

"No, I won't."

She tried to pull her hand away. "Nothing happened. Nothing happened, Daniel! Please tell them nothing happened!" After a few seconds of struggle, her face began to crumble. She collapsed onto him, crying. All of the anguish and fear and pain that she had been forced to withhold wailed out of her as she clung to her only friend, repeating that nothing had happened over and over. He put his arms around her and just held on.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Years later…

Dr. Daniel Jackson rested his head on his steering wheel, savoring the 2 o'clock darkness. Aspirin had numbed his headache but the tension remained in his neck and shoulders. He was sure that there had been times in his life where he felt worse than he did at the moment, but hedidn't want tothink of one right now.

Hathor had swept through the base two weeks ago. Most of the men on the base were still skulking around, sheepishly avoiding eye contact with the women. Daniel was having a harder time putting it all behind him. Once his full memories had returned, he had been compelled to report to Jack what the Goa'uld queen had made him do. The older man had his own trauma to deal with but he tried to be supportive of his teammate. However, nothing could change the fact that somehow the story had slipped out and was all over the base. All Daniel could figure was that one of the women who had helped Sam had told what she had seen. He had heard some nasty things whispered as he entered rooms the past few days. It hurt. No one could understand what it had been like for him. He felt very much alone.

He had driven to the grocery store when he was unable to sleep. During his college years, Daniel had discovered that 2 AM was a great time to shop. The stores were empty so it was quick and quiet. As he climbed out of his car, Daniel was certain that he could hear his joints creaking. He felt old. For the first time in his life he regretted notonly finding the Stargate but studying archeology in the first place.

He walked into the grocery store, flinching a little at the florescent harshness, and headed for the produce department. Janet Frasier had taken one look at the circles under his eyes and started to lecture him about sleeping more and eating better. The whole team complained about the doctor's nagging but secretly Daniel enjoyed it. It had been too long since someone had cared enough to fuss over him.

He filled his cart, grabbing mostly staples and frozen vegetables, items that wouldn't go bad if he disappeared off world for a week. He treated himself to some steaks, toying with the idea of inviting the team over for dinner. At that thought, Daniel's shame returned. It had been Sam who had found him, half naked and catatonic in the VIP room after Hathor was through with him. He had felt very uncomfortable around her ever since. He wasn't sure what to say to her now.

Shaking his head to clear away his sadness, Daniel headed towards his favorite aisle. In the chaos of the past few weeks he had run out of coffee. There was a shop he liked near base, but he needed something at home as well. In the aisle he saw the only other customer in the store. She was bent over to get some tea. Trying to get past her, Daniel smacked his cart into hers making a very loud bang.

"Holy – Fuck! Excuse me!" The woman turned on him, startled.

It had been ten years since they had seen each other, but Daniel recognized his friend instantly. Her long red ponytail fell past her shoulders. The glasses she wore didn't mask the annoyance in her eyes. Then she recognized him. "Daniel?"

"Ella? Oh my god, Ella!" The two old friends threw their arms around each other, thrilled and laughing. They had not seen each other since they lived together and communications had been scattered through the years. Since Daniel had been back from Abydos, he had not even thought of trying to track anyone down. But here she was, all grown up, in the middle of a grocery store at 2 AM.

Daniel pulled back and looked at her, saying the first thing that came to his mind: "Your hair is so long!"

Tears came to Ella's eyes but she smiled at him. "It's been a long time since it was short." Daniel's eyes filled up as well and they hugged again. Her arms around him felt solid and steady, the arms of a life long friend.

* * *

The End. 


End file.
